Bribery allegations may be part of Aces Wired trial

CORPUS CHRISTI - Prosecutors in an eight-liner gambling case in Nueces County hope to bring in allegations at trial that a Fort Worth police officer was bribed by the company.

But representatives of Aces Wired say it's not true. They say the company's legal counsel simply retained the 27-year police veteran as an expert witness.

The officer, who wouldn't comment last week, hasn't been charged with any wrongdoing. Authorities wouldn't say whether there is an active investigation into the bribery claims.

Four of the 14 defendants facing charges of engaging in organized criminal activity and tampering with evidence are set to be tried Aug. 17. They are Kenneth Griffith, Knowles Cornwell, Jeremy Tyra and Donna Raser.

In May 2008, Corpus Christi police and other law enforcement agencies seized about 90 gambling devices and $175,000 cash from Aces Wired's location on Ayers Street as part of coordinated raids across the state.

The prosecution gave notice through a motion filed in April saying they intend to offer the allegations of bribery and misuse of official information at this month's trial. State District Judge Sandra Watts has not yet ruled on whether the allegations will be used in the upcoming trial.

The motion says that the alleged bribery scheme took place from Dec. 17, 2007, up until the day of the raids on May 21, 2008. The company or someone acting as representative of the company is accused of bribing the Fort Worth officer into disclosing information about the investigation that hadn't been made public, according to the motion.

The motion says the bribery was monetary but doesn't detail an amount or what information he is accused of relaying.

Assistant Attorney General David Glickler, who is representing the Nueces County District Attorney's Office, said the office's policy is not to comment on pending cases.

Defense attorneys have argued that the allegations should be kept out.

One of the defense attorneys, Don DeGabrielle, said that the officer's tie to the company had been as a consultant.

The officer, who spent the past seven years of service in the vice section, testified before a Potter County jury in Amarillo last year and also gave a deposition during proceedings in San Antonio, an Aces Wired spokesman said in a prepared statement.

"No issue was raised in those proceedings about (his) role in providing expert testimony. Aces Wired believes that the government's allegations related to (his) role with the company are not true," the statement reads.

The civil trial, in October 2008, ended with jurors finding that while they believed what went on at the Amarillo location was gambling it wasn't a common nuisance.

That split verdict left the state and the company in a kind of tie. Nothing was awarded to either side.

In February 2008, the same month the officer left the Forth Worth Police Department, he started his own consulting, compliance and inspection firm, according to his resume filed in the Potter County case.

ACES WIRED CASE HIGHLIGHTS

A Nueces County grand jury in December indicted 14 people associated with Dallas-based Aces Wired on engaging in organized criminal activity and tampering with evidence.

Earlier this year, five people associated with the company also were indicted on money laundering charges. Three were among the 14 who already faced charges locally.

The indictments were brought as a result of a lengthy statewide investigation in multiple counties.

Organized gambling is illegal in Texas. But slot machines, sometimes called eight-liners because there are eight ways to win, operate under a statute that allows owners to reward players with small novelty items.

Aces Wired's system awarded players in points, which could accrue on debit cards.